College students are often stressed and some even have anxiety and depression due to the pressures they face. According to Mental Health Therapist and Counselor at Sierra College, Jamie Chin, “When we have anxiety and stress we have a lot of negative thinking going on.” And in describing Gen-Z specifically, she said, “I’m just calling you guys the anxiety generation.” So what can we do?
What are the effects of social media use? Are they negative, or positive? In the past decade, it has become an increasingly substantial part of our lives. Many spend hours every day scrolling through their phone looking at Instagram or Twitter. But how is this affecting our mental health? And how does it affect students, more specifically?
The months of September to December are the best times of the year. The cold weather is quite pleasant, not to mention many people are suckers for anything gingerbread or pumpkin-spice related. However, my favorite thing about these months are the holidays. By holidays, I don’t mean just the typical holidays celebrated in the U.S. like Christmas, I also mean traditional Jewish holidays like Hanukkah.
Growing up in Mountain House, California, no one really celebrated Hanukkah and hence the stores around me like Target and the Dollar Store had no menorahs or other Hanukkah decorations. I mean literally, it was half an aisle. Even where I live now in Roseville, there are still few, even at stores like World Market. As I get older, I want to show off my Jewish heritage and educate others.
To find out what students at Sierra know about Jewish holidays I gave a survey. In the survey, eight out of nine students knew about one of the most well-known holidays, Hanukkah. One of the students even knew about Purim, a holiday that occurs in the spring, however they misspelled the word. No students mentioned Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year for Jewish people. It occurred this year from Sept. 24-Sept 25. It is the holiest day of the year for Jewish people, and its history and why it’s celebrated should be more well-known.
Yom Kippur may not be my favorite holiday because it’s a little boring, however it is vital for me to celebrate as a Jewish person. According to Judaism 101, Yom Kippur’s English translation is “Day of Atonement,” meaning a day to be forgiven for sins.
On Yom Kippur, it is a Sabbath so you cannot eat, drink, smoke, or work for twenty-five hours. However, you don’t have to follow it completely if it could negatively affect your health. Children under the age of nine, pregnant people, and anyone with a health condition can adjust it if needed.
A majority of the holiday is spent in a synagogue praying. A synagogue looks just like the inside of a Christian church, typically with one large room dedicated to prayer with a special cabinet called a Torah arch in the center to hold the Torah, the holy Jewish text. There is also a podium near the Torah arch where the Rabbi and/or leaders of services stand. During most services, the congregation often switches between bowing, sitting, standing, and facing towards the Torah/Torah arch while standing.
On the outside, most synagogues look like any ordinary building or even small businesses/doctor’s offices. Most Jewish people in the modern day don’t take off school or work to practice this religious tradition, as it is not recognized as a Federal holiday. However, it is the holiest day of the year for Jewish people.
Unfortunately, I have never missed school or work to observe and practice this holiday because of financial and educational reasons. When Yom Kippur happens every year, I do pray to God for forgiveness. My religion is an important part of my identity as well as important to my beliefs, hence me observing or celebrating as many Jewish holidays as I can.
One holiday my family and I do participate in every year is Hanukkah. When I was younger, my mother even came into my classroom during December every year to educate the students about Hanukkah and its significance. My favorite part of the holiday however is its food and history.
The story of Hanukkah starts off during the second century BCE. when Antiochus, a Syrian-Greek ruler, outlawed Judaism in order to make everyone convert to Hellenistic pagan worship. However, a man named Judah the Maccabee, along with a group of seven other Jewish people called the Maccabees, fought against Antiochus because they still wanted to practice Judaism.
Despite being such a small group of people, they won and reclaimed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. They decided to light the menorah to give them warmth and light, but they only had one jar of oil which usually only lasts for one night. However it lasted for eight and thus, Hanukkah is celebrated for eight days. The way I see it, the reason this miracle is celebrated in modern times is to represent no matter what challenges Jewish people face, eventually we will overcome them.
Traditional foods eaten on or around Hanukkah include latkes (pronounced lot-kuhs), which are potato pancakes, anything (mostly dough) deep fried in oil, and gelt. Gelt are chocolate-shaped coins wrapped in golden foil, however, the color of the foil can vary. The reason why Jewish people eat food fried in oil is to represent the oil in the menorah lasting for eight days. The reason why Jewish people eat gelt is because in ancient times, coins were given to teachers from children as a gift of appreciation during Hanukkah. In modern times, it’s been reversed, with Hebrew school teachers now often giving their students bags of chocolate gelt around Hanukkah time. This tradition of giving coins also influenced modern Christian culture and currently, around Christmas, chocolate coins are also given to Christian children around Christmas time.
Sharing the culture and holidays of many religions shows just how diverse and beautiful this world truly is. I’m glad to share my culture and religion with others, and want to encourage others to share their culture and beliefs, too. I believe that if your religion is not understood well or underappreciated, you should happily share yours with others.
We often hear so much about Christian and Catholic holidays that other holidays don’t get enough light shed on them, such as Muslim, Jewish, and Buddhist holidays. By sharing holidays and culture with others, you not only enlighten yourself but help the broader community appreciate other cultures and holidays as well.
Written, Reported, and Photographed by Marissa Elizabeth Martens
I began my journey as a welder in the Welding Program at Sierra College. I was first introduced to it in the five-week, “Intro to Welding” course and instantly fell in love. The whole idea of fusing metals together really grabbed my attention because it was so unique and different.
My first day in class we had to go over safety orientation to learn all of the dangers of welding. I was full of fear and thought to myself, “this isn’t for me.” I really didn’t see myself getting into such a daring and bold career field.
After hundreds of lectures, awkward Zoom interactions, and more than a few 11:59 pm submission scrambles, many community college students will find themselves ready to transfer to a four-year college. Whether it’s to a UC, CSU, or another university, transferring is a necessary step for community college graduates who seek a bachelor’s degree.
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The things we take for granted. In our daily coexistence with different people, we take many things for granted. However, there are people in difficult circumstances who belong to minorities and even if they work hard and excel in school, they may not be able to go to college. Some might not even be able to attend community college, which is known to be the most financially accessible.
The concept of equity acknowledges that everybody has different circumstances and comes from different backgrounds, so different resources may be needed to reach an equal outcome. The title Everybody is Entitled to Equity is based on the team’s realization through their research that no matter what background, race, sexuality, legal status, one may be, everybody is deserving of the correct support to achieve success. When everyone has equitable access to resources, opportunities, and support, it fosters social cohesion, reduces inequality, and creates a more just and prosperous society for all.
Everybody is Entitled to Equity is a set of four stories produced by a team of journalist fellows in Spring, 2023. The team includes five student journalists, featured in the above image from left to right: Sierra Mickelson, Alexa Topacio, Luis-Antonio Carreon, Ryder Bouck, and Ethan Yamaguchi. They were all awarded through the California Humanities “Emerging Journalist” Fellowship with the Journalism program at Sierra College. The fellowship is only granted to four students, however, with assistance from the Sierra College Foundation, a fifth fellow was also awarded.
It’s a quiet afternoon on March 16, 2023 and I am sitting on a large, grey couch in the middle of the Basic Needs Center on the Sierra College, Rocklin campus. Chatter comes from behind the front desks that face windows looking out into a small courtyard. Claire Masztakowski, a student employee, turns away from her conversation to face two young students walking through the door. She types their ID numbers into the computer, and the students go peruse the Food Pantry. This is one of many spaces around campus with resources that support students to further equity.
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In this 4:53 video, reporter Alexa Topacio visits the local Loomis Basin Congregational United Church of Christ, the first church established in Loomis, California, currently led by Pastor Casey Tinnin-Martinez. Continue Reading
Growing up, I forced myself to awkwardly laugh along with the “ching-chong” jokes kids made about my eyes. I shyly answered the rude questions kids would ask about the “weird looking” chicken adobo my mother packed me in my Hello Kitty thermos for lunch.
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“What kind of bread? What kind of sandwich? Would you like it toasted? What kind of sauces? Veggies? Salt, pepper, oil, or vinegar?” These are questions you’d typically hear in Subway. However, this isn’t the case when you walk into the 5070 B, Rocklin Rd. Subway. Here it’s easy to become a regular where they know your order and be greeted warmly by the Chauhan family. Continue Reading
In fall 2022, I traveled to three A-1 Comics locations to find out how the pandemic impacted workers and customers. I first met, Nick, a Sierra College student in his second year working at A-1 Comics, North Highlands location. In the photo above, he organizes and sorts comics.